Percicobeth- Lakeside Confessions
by rainediamond
Summary: This is the story of how Nico was brought into Percy and Annabeth's relationship, because, after all, demigods are best in threes. Percy/Nico/Annabeth. Warning: Polyamory, bisexuality, etc. One-shot. Fluffy.


**A/N: Hi guys, this is my first PJO/ HoO fanfic. It is a three-person relationship, so if you have a problem with that, don't read this. Please comment and let me know what you thought. This is Percicobeth, just a short fluffy-ish piece. **

**Disclaimer: Uncle Rick owns these characters, not me. Otherwsie, Percicobeth would be canon.**

Nico never understood how it really happened, but one day he **realized** he liked Annabeth. Not nearly as much as he was in love with Percy, but still, there was a growing feeling of respect for her and also some attraction. That was confusing as hell because he thought he was gay. As hard as it was to admit that, he was gay, completely in love with Percy Jackson. But also, maybe just a tiny bit in love with Annabeth.

A few days later, the Aphrodite kids had led another lecture on how love comes in all forms, blah blah blah, rainbows, etc. Not really Nico's cup of tea, but one bit that he found interesting was bisexuality. Back in the thirties, it was unheard of, but now there was supposedly this thing where a person could be attracted to both men and women. But could someone be attracted to both at the same time?

That evening, as the rest of the campers were headed for the campfire, Nico began heading back to the onyx cabin he inhabited. On the way there, he saw Percy and Annabeth holding hands. Percy was grinning like an idiot ('Well that's what he is,' Nico's brain argued) as per usual, and Annabeth was rattling off architecture facts.

For some odd reason, Nico found that to be endearing. Before he would have felt jealousy, but now he wanted to join them. Shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts, Nico continued to approach the dark cabin.

Behind him, he heard Percy shout, "Nico!"

He didn't want to turn and face them, but his heart did a little undignified tap dance and he found himself facing the dynamic duo before he could help himself.

"What do you want," he asked, trying to sound more stand-offish than he did. Unfortunately, it came out like an indignant squeak. Annabeth gave him an odd look, but Percy just started talking.

"We're going down to the lake. Do you want to join us?" Percy's eyes were wide and eager, like a puppy that wanted to play.

Nico watched Annabeth as he asked, "Don't you guys want to be alone?"

Annabeth looked amused, almost like she knew something he didn't, and it was bugging Nico to no end. He wanted to wipe that smirk off her face, maybe a kiss would shut her up. Whoa, wait, hold on. He did not just think that. He must be losing his mind.

Nico shook his head, trying to get rid off the offending thoughts as Percy explained, "Well, we wanted you to come with us. We can all go swimming if you want."

"I can't swim," Nico deadpanned.

The look on Percy's face was hysterical, you would have thought he said he didn't know how to walk or breathe. Though Nico supposed, being a son of Poseidon, he took for granted that not all people could swim.

Nico started walking away again, but Percy grabbed his arm. "Wait! I'll teach you how to swim, and Annabeth can help too."

Nico kind of wanted to disappear, but the pleading look in Percy's emerald eyes and the sincere look in Annabeth's made him sigh and give in. "Fine, I'll go swimming, but so you know, I don't have a swimsuit."

Percy seemed to ponder this for a minute. Annabeth simply interjected, "You can wear one of Percy's old suits, they're probably still in the drawers of his dresser in Cabin 3."

"Oh, yeah. I'll go find the smallest pair," Percy added before dashing off to his cabin.

Nico stared at the ground. "Smallest pair," he grumbled just loud enough to hear. Percy missed the comment, already being out of earshot, but Annabeth didn't.

She laughed at him. She took in his tiny frame, hidden in the depths of his aviator jacket and yet another skull t-shirt. "Well you are still pretty skinny from your time in the jar."

As soon as she said it, she regretted it with just one look to Nico's face. It was like he was reliving his time in the Death Trance. His skin had gone back to that translucent white, and his eyes were wide in fear. He started shaking in, and his eyes welled up with unshed tears.

"Nico," Annabeth ventured. She got no response. "Nico, come on. You're okay, you're safe. It's me, Annabeth, and Percy will be back soon." Still nothing.

Percy came jogging back with a blue swimsuit slung over his shoulder, surprised to find Nico looking catatonic. "What happened?" he asked his girlfriend in concern.

"I mentioned the jar, I think he's having a flashback. Oh gods, I'm sorry, Nico."

Percy rubbed the younger boy's arm gently trying to bring him out of his flashback. After another minute, he was getting more and more worried, he knew that flashbacks tended to get worse the longer they went on. "Nico," he hummed. "It's okay now, I've got you." With that, Percy pulled the smaller demigod into his arms.

Nico snapped to attention at the sudden amount of physical contact. He turned as red as Clarisse's bandana as he pushed away from the son of the sea god. "I'm fine," he hissed, rubbing his arms as though Percy's presence on the jacket offended him.

Annabeth began apologizing profusely, but Nico just waved her off. "Come on, let's get this swimming thing over with."

So that was how they found themselves down at the lake about fifteen minutes later. Percy was watching him like a hawk after he went catatonic, and while it was nice to know that he had the Savior of Olympus's attention, Percy hardly gave him enough privacy to change into the swimsuit.

Not surprisingly, the suit was still a little loose around his narrow hips, but he'd managed to get the strings tight enough to keep the trunks up.

When he had come back out of his cabin, he almost ran away because Percy was leaning against the wall lazily, languidly, and half-naked! Percy's lean muscles glistened in the moonlight, and Nico thought about cursing Artemis until he thought better of it. Beside the gorgeous demigod, a beautiful California-tanned young woman rested. Nico felt his blush deepen as he took in Annabeth's swimsuit. It was a practical one-piece, and it had a vertical black stripe running down the center, separating the two cream-colored halves. She had also let her ponytail down so the blonde curls now bounced around her shoulders and chest.

"Really, Nico?" Percy groaned. "You're wearing a shirt now too?" He gestured to Nico's black and red skull t-shirt in exasperation.

Nico gave him a dark glare. "The shirt stays."

Now, despite Nico's protests, Percy had the younger boy around the waist, helping him learn the basic strokes, and using the water to help. Annabeth was laughing off on the side, swimming around the lake from time to time.

"Don't let me go!" Nico cried as Percy started to pull back.

"Relax, you cannot drown while I'm here. Don't worry, I'm not letting go, I'm just going down to your legs to help you get the motions right," Percy explained soothingly.

Eventually, Nico got the hang of it, and Percy was allowed to let go, but he still made sure the water wouldn't let Nico drown. Nico missed the contact, but he also wanted to show off his new skills. He swam around timidly, even going over to Annabeth at one point.

Two hours after they first began, they started having a water fight. It was Nico and Annabeth against Percy, but of course Percy was winning. Nico managed a surprise attack from behind while Annabeth distracted Percy. He flailed around when Percy turned, managing to send a flurry of water at the surprised camper.

He and Annabeth laughed in triumph until Percy sent a mini tidal wave at them. While in the water, the currents tugged Nico's shirt off, no doubt at Percy's request. Nico panicked, coming up gasping for air and trying to hide his body. Though Annabeth caught him before he could escape.

"Whoa, Nico what's wr-" her question died on her lips when she saw what Nico was trying to hide.

Percy froze too when he saw the long scar running along Nico's chest. "How did you get that?" he asked softly.

The fight left Nico, his arms dropped to his sides and the couple stared at the scar. It was still pretty new, the edges were still puffy, and it ran from Nico's left clavicle down to his navel in gruesome curve. "I got it in Tartarus. When I was captured, the titan who caught me gave me this. When I went directly into the Death Trance before taking ambrosia," he winced, "it made the poison less lethal so I could survive, but the wound still didn't heal on its own. I even tried ambrosia when I got out, but it scarred anyway. That's why I wanted to keep the shirt on."

Percy's eyes flashed dangerously as he thought about revenge against the titan who hurt Nico. Annabeth's eyes hardened, and she was glad they had closed the Doors and stopped Gaea.

They pair locked eyes before facing the youngest member of the group. "Will you guys stop staring at me?" Nico grumbled, burying his red face in his shoulder.

"No," Percy answered him.

Nico's dark eyes widened and his head shot up as he stared at the eighteen year old. "No?"

"I'm not going to take my eyes off of you. Never again," Percy added.

"What?"

"I'm not either," Annabeth agreed with her boyfriend. She understood where Percy was going with this. They had discussed the idea before, but now they would go through with it.

Nico looked between the two of them. He was completely lost. "What are you guys saying?"

"We're saying," Percy began, starting to get nervous, "that we are going to watch over you from now on because we want to be with you. Like, romantically."

"If you want," Annabeth added carefully. "Nico, we both have very strong feelings for you in addition to each other. I understand if you only like Percy, because you've always like him, but we want you. We need you. Demigods are always best in threes." She smiled a bit at the end.

"This isn't a joke is it?" Nico asked, not really believing them.

"Nope, no joke," Percy verified.

Nico swallowed a lump in his throat. "You guys seriously both want me? Romantically want to be with me? In a relationship? With both of you?"

They nodded again. Nico made a strangled noise, but he grinned after a moment. "I think I might like that. I think I might like that very much."

**A/N: I am working on another Percicobeth story right now, it will be quite a bit longer and focus on their lives as adults, post-war. Please review and let me know what you thought of this one-shot.**

**Thanks, Raine.**


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